Reeves’ £28bn wealth fund under fresh scrutiny November 13, 2025 Rachel Reeves’ flagship National Wealth Fund has come under scrutiny after an audit identified “weaknesses” in the multi-billion pound vehicle’s risk controls. An audit of the National Wealth Fund (NWF) pointed to potential failures in the effectiveness of risk, management, governance and internal controls. Whilst the findings from the report confirmed “improvements have taken place”, [...]
UK must stop treating wealth as an offence November 13, 2025 Wealth creators are not a target, but the UK’s greatest economic fuel. The government won't get anywhere before it recognises it.
Reeves and Starmer are now at the mercy of the markets November 13, 2025 A government elected on competence and stability may now gamble both to stave off internal revolt. For investors, the message is that British politics has not regained the calm that markets briefly hoped for, says Helen Thomas The markets once again have a starring role on the stage of political intrigue. Allies of the Prime [...]
If income tax thresholds remain frozen benefits should too November 13, 2025 Consistency matters. If the fiscal situation is truly so dire that tax thresholds must remain frozen, then the same logic should apply to spending, says John O’Connell The biggest casualty of the upcoming Budget will not be the rich or the poor. It will be those who are caught in the middle: the working and [...]
AI becomes UK businesses’ first line of defence amid regulatory uncertainty November 12, 2025 AI has moved from an experiment to the primary ‘first line of defence’ for UK businesses facing regulatory scrutiny and operational uncertainty. According to new data from consultancy firm Elixirr, nearly half of UK businesses stated that all resilience-focused investment now flows to technology and AI. This comes as an overwhelming number of UK business [...]
Shawbrook’s private equity owner eyes another £3bn IPO November 12, 2025 The private equity owner of specialist lender Shawbrook is eyeing another blockbuster listing for one of its portfolio companies, fresh reports have suggested. Pollen Street Capital is understood to be laying the groundwork for an IPO for its UK insurer Markerstudy with conversations underway with investment bankers over a listing that could value the firm [...]
FTSE 100 closes in on 10,000 after outperforming US indices November 12, 2025 The FTSE 100 is inching a step closer to the magic 10,000 mark after almost a year of outperforming counterparts across the Atlantic. London’s blue-chip index rallied on the open before giving up some gains to settle on a broadly flat level. It follows two consecutive record closes with the City shrugging off bubbling tensions [...]
Motorpoint sold hundreds of cars using AI agent as profits jump November 12, 2025 Motorpoint has revealed it sold hundreds of cars using its new AI agent as the car dealer reported a jump in profits. Chief executive Mark Carpenter said the use of the agent allowed the London-listed firm to be more persistent with its sales strategy when human sales agents might have given up. “We’ve sold about [...]
Rachel Reeves mulls second booze tax hike November 12, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves is considering an increase in taxes on alcohol in line with a higher reading of inflation in a repeat of last year’s Budget, according to reports. Reeves could hike duties by the retail prices index (RPI) inflation rate in a bid to raise more cash to fill an estimated £30bn fiscal hole [...]
Government to reconsider Waspi women compensation claim after new evidence November 12, 2025 The decision not to award compensation to women affected by the rise in state pension age will be reviewed, the Work and Pensions Secretary has said, after new evidence came to light. Pat McFadden confirmed the decision will be reconsidered and the government will withdraw from the judicial review brought by the Women Against State [...]